How to Get Ready for the Housecleaner

Oh, the irony! You've hired a housecleaner, but every two weeks you run around the night before he or she comes, cleaning the house. If you're using the housecleaner as a nudge to pay the bills and put away the laundry, you've got bigger fish to fry. Follow these tips and you'll be able to enjoy the peace of a newly scrubbed house with far less of a prewash.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Discuss your wants and needs with your cleaning person so that you both understand the expectations. Most services will dust, vacuum, mop, take out the trash and clean bathrooms and kitchens. Typically, you'll have to negotiate chores like windows, dishes and laundry. Discuss these things at your house so you can make expectations very clear, room by room.
2. Write up a list that details what you covered in your meeting. Add special instructions, like "Never put my pants in the dryer" or "Don't use ant spray inside the house." List extras such as cleaning the fridge or washing baseboards in a separate section. Put your list out every time the housecleaner comes, especially if your needs or priorities change week to week. See 3 Write an Effective To-Do List.
3. Brush up on your housecleaner's native language if he or she is a non-English speaker. Or ask a friend who's fluent in that language to translate your list. Refer to it when you first meet with your housecleaner, and again from time to time to point out anything that may have changed.
4. Inform the housecleaner of any pets, keys, alarms or other specifics about your household.
5. Develop organizing systems to reduce the clutter you have to deal with so it doesn't build up before cleaning day (see 1 Get Organized). Pick up shoes, clothes, toys and laundry before the cleaner arrives, so that floors, beds, tables and counters can be cleaned properly.
6. Mark your cleaning day on the calendar so you remember to get cash ahead of time if you need to. See 265 Create a Household Organizer.
7. Set out clean sheets for the beds and towels for the bathrooms.
8. Put away valuables, important papers and other things you want to keep private or wouldn't want to be accidentally thrown away. See 184 Conquer Your Paper Piles and 7 Deal With a Flood of Mail.
9. Separate clothes you don't want machine-washed and dried rather than leave them in the dirty clothes. If it's a concern, sort laundry into piles (see 62 Organize Your Laundry Center).

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your housecleaner or cleaning service what household products they use. If you'd prefer hypoallergenic or nontoxic products, you may need to provide them.
• Renter's and homeowner's insurance policies typically don't cover housecleaners, so ask a cleaning service for proof of liability insurance, the amount of coverage it carries, and the expiration date of the coverage. If your valuables get broken or are lost, the cleaner's insurance may be your only recourse.
• Before you hire someone to clean your home, make it clear that he or she will work as an independent contractor. Otherwise, you may be on the hook for workers' compensation, payroll taxes and Social Security. Get details and guidelines from your accountant.

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